Our Readers Rock!

Monday, February 9, 2009

If only we all had our own Mary Poppins. I fantasized as a child about having a secret Mary Poppins, someone all my own. I've always believed that the story of Mary Poppins plays on children's fear of being alone. When parents are busy, occupied, tired, sometimes as children we feel like no one listens and the world is too busy for us. I know I did, and I catch myself doing the same things with my own son at times. I get so preoccupied with giving the mission of giving him everything I ever wanted as a child that sometimes I have to stop, take a breath, and remember all that children ever want is their parents. Tonight I saw that in him, he was tired and I was exhausted and I just wanted him to go to bed but he was almost inconsolable grabbing at my legs, trying to pull me around. I wanted to eat dinner and just have a moment to recoup from my day and all he wanted was for me to hold him. I got upset even though I knew that's all he wanted and then I saw the Mary Poppins DVD sitting on the side of the table. Mary Poppins never seemed tired or too busy she always knew when to lay down the law and when to say just the right thing.

As a real parent I know I have not found that sort of balance and if I could draw on my inner Mary Poppins you better believe I would do it. Even her song "Just a spoon full of sugar will make the medicine go down..." heh, it sums her up in full. Though she never let the kids get away with being bad she certainly made the unpleasant aspects of life a little easier to handle. That's exactly the sort of mom I hope to be and I'm not there yet though I aspire to be even just a tiny bit like Mary Poppins.

I'd make a bet that there are a tons of children today that have never even seen Mary Poppins and that's a pure and honest shame. It's a fabulous movie and the new 45th Anniversary Edition brings her back crisp and clear and beautiful as ever. Don't forget her friend Bert the chimney sweep who quite possibly has one of the worst jobs ever, but may just be the happiest man you will ever meet. Which reminds me.. Connor has been on huge verbal spike lately he is saying new words so fast I can barely keep up. The word of today was horse which was followed by a shrill squeal which is supposed to be the "horse sound" but possibly after we watch Mary Poppins a few times I think I'm going to try to get him to say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, heh, I can already see the look on his face.

Included in the Mary Poppins 45thAnniversary Edition is a bunch of great extra features including a really cool animated adventure called The Cat That Looked At The King. Julie Andrews, aka Mary Poppins, hosts the animated feature and her and two of her young friends enter the animated world. Its a cute short film and I don't believe its ever been seen before this DVD.